Music Listening and Neurocognitive Impairment

Neurocognitive impairment is a useful umbrella term that brings together a range of disorders and illnesses in which the trajectory is not always towards improvement. Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and a range of other common disorders share similar symptoms, all of which impact the person’s life in ways that make everyday living steadily more difficult. Music has been prominent in some of the more well-known representations of neurocognitive impairment, with videos of people who cannot speak, but can sing; cannot walk, but can dance; cannot remember until the song brings memories flooding back. These dramatic responses to music are not guaranteed. They are based on the individual’s pre-existing relationship with music and the specific areas of the brain that are impacted, or not, by disease. However, they happen often enough to warrant investigation and make music listening worthy of consideration by health care professionals.